This invention relates to a tool lanyard for holding tools, and more particularly to a tool lanyard carried by a workman for securing and arresting the inadvertent dropping of tools, such as wrenches, drills, or hammers for example.
Workmen in the construction of buildings or the like utilize various tools, such as wrenches, screwdrivers, hammers, drills, and other various tools. When the tool is manually carried by the workman and in use, the workman may inadvertently drop the tool. When such tools are not in use they are usually mounted on the body of the workman such as in belts about the body of the workman or in various pockets. Usually the tools are not tightly secured and may fall or be dropped by the workman particularly upon movement of the workman such as climbing, bending, or when in a prone position. Such movements may dislodge a tool which may result in a fall of the tool. It may be difficult to retrieve a tool after it is dropped.
Workmen are often times positioned at great heights particularly when working on multi-story buildings. Scaffolding is often utilized and a workman may have to climb on the exterior of the scaffolding. All of these activities may result in the dropping or fall of a tool by a workman and the tool may fall from a substantial height to present a safety hazard as a tool may strike a person at ground level. Retrieval of the tool is time consuming and may not always be possible.
It is desired that a tool holder carried by a workman be provided to secure a tool and arrest the inadvertent dropping of the tool by the workman.
The tool lanyard of the present invention for holding tools is normally secured at one end to a safety harness or other member on the body of a workman. A safety harness which is normally strapped about the shoulders, waist, and legs of a workman is normally connected to a fall arrestor. The tool lanyard may also be mounted on a waist belt or other suitable strap or belt.
The tool lanyard preferably has a snap hook on one end which is attached to a ring on the safety harness. A looped non-elastic cord tightly gripping the tool is connected to the other end of the lanyard and a stretchable elastic element or cord is connected between the non-elastic cord and the snap hook. The stretchable elastic cord fits within an outer flexible but non-elastic sheath which extends about the elastic cord and protects the cord from wear and tear, such as cuts or abrasions. The flexible sheath is preferably formed of a non-elastic webbing material. The outer non-elastic flexible sheath which receives the elastic cord is normally in a highly relaxed position and is kinked along its length when no load or weight is applied from the looped non-elastic cord extending about the tool. However, when a load is applied from a tool gripped by the looped cord, the elastic cord is stretched until the flexible sheath is extended to a taut relation. The stretching of the elastic cord increases substantially the length of the sheath. For example, the non-elastic flexible sheath may have a length of about 2 feet in a kinked relaxed condition and may be extended to about 3{fraction (1/2 )} feet in length when taut to prevent any further stretching of the elastic cord. Thus, the non-elastic sheath and elastic cord provide a resilient mounting for a tool while arresting the downward movement of the tool. When the tool is not being used, it is normally supported by the harness for easy accessibility to the workman. In the event the tool is dropped or released while the lanyard is connected to the harness, the fall of the tool will be arrested by the resilient support with a minimum jerking or pulling action. Thus, a cushioning effect is provided to minimize any shock.
It is an object of the invention to provide a tool lanyard carried by a workman at one end and connected to a tool at an opposed end to stop the fall of a tool if inadvertently dropped by the workman.
An additional object of the invention is to provide such a tool lanyard connected at one end to a safety harness about the workman and resiliently mounting a tool thereon for resiliently arresting or stopping the fall of the tool.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following specification and drawings.